Amongst the Gerudo: Tales of Gerudo Link!
by ocramed
Summary: Disclaimer: LoZ belongs to Nintendo, while the idea belongs to "tran4of3" (author of "Amongst the Gerudo"). Question: What would happen had the Hero of Time acquired the Gerudo Mask, while caught up in a Gerudo mating ritual, during the quest to defeat Gannondorf? Let's find out, shall we? Set during OoT...
1. Chapter 1

**Amongst the Gerudo: Tales of Gerudo Link, Part 1! – By Ocramed**

* * *

**Disclaimer: LoZ belongs to Nintendo, while the idea belongs to "tran4of3".**

**Note: This is first act of a three act AU series. C&C are welcomed.**

**Special Note: This story is based upon the gender-bending comic, "Amongst the Gerudo". Check out that comic first, found on the "deviantART" website, before reading this story.**

**Author's Note: Basically, the Hero of Time known as Link has a misadventure as a disguised Gerudo, thanks to the magic of the Happy Mask Salesman. Link (as "Linika the Gerudo") ends up pregnant, thanks to a Gerudo rite of passage that allows all Gerudo to extend their bloodlines…after inadvertently "hooking up" with a local Hylian male. Nevertheless, Linika's story picks up after spending seven years in the Sacred Realm, thanks to "her" claiming the Master Sword after entering the Temple of Time. Unfortunately, Linika's quest to stop the evil Ganondorf, the king of the Gerudo has just gotten complicated**…

* * *

As the light surrounding Linika dies down, the Hero of Time took stock of her situation.

One, she was still Gerudo, albeit seven years older, making her an adult young woman, and, two, there was a young, Gerudo child standing next to her.

"What a rush!" the girl said happily, as she moves to hug Linika. "Hi, Mommy!"

"…," said Linika, as she stared at the girl with a wide-eyed expression. She had forgotten that she had gotten pregnant, thanks to misusing the magic of the Happy Mask Salesman.

'Wait,' Linika thought, as she felt her daughter's hug. 'I have a kid?'

"Link?" said a familiar voice. "Are you okay…?"

Linika turned to see her trusty fairy companion Navi, as she flutters about in her so-called cocoon of light.

"…," Linika replied, with a hint of embarrassment. Navi was there the night her daughter was conceived…

"Hey, you have a fairy friend, Mommy!" Linika's daughter said. "Can I have one, too?"

Linika tells Navi to disappear for a while, while she sorts things out. Reluctantly, Navi agrees, as she re-enters Linika head, much to the disappointment of Linika's daughter. Linika then took stock of her own situation. She had certainly aged seven or so years, and had the body of a mature woman in her mid-twenties. The Gerudo Mask had already aged her to the ripe age of eighteen years old, the time when all Gerudo had to take the test involving the Gerudo Training Ground, which served as a rite of passage for the Gerudo. Unfortunately, Linika did not know about the other part of the Gerudo's rite of passage, which involved trolling for Hylian men for the sake of extending the bloodline of those Gerudo who went through the Gerudo Training Ground…

Linika sighed, as she looked at her daughter. She was only a few years older than her when she and her father hooked up that one night. However, to be fair, the father did assume that she was a full grown maiden, thanks to the Gerudo Mask, and it did not help that her own cowardice in the matter did not help guide her towards a better course of action. Whatever she was before that entire mess, Linika knew that she could not take back those experiences, and seeing the smiling face of her own daughter told her that, regardless of what happened in the past, she was not inclined to take back.

"So, what now, Mommy?" the girl asked. "Uncle Ruafo said that we have to find and awaken the Sages, in order to stop Uncle Gannondorf."

'Oh, that's right,' Linikia thought, as she sheaths the Master Sword in her scabbard. She then kneels to the floor of the Temple of Time, and took stock of her…daughter…

"…?" said Linika, as she made sure that her daughter was okay.

"Mommy, I'm FINE," the girl said. "Let's just go, okay?"

Linika chuckles a bit. The girl certainly took after him…her.

And that brought up an important point to the Hero of Time.

What was she? Was she Gerudo now? It was funny that for most of her life, she had thought that she was one of the Kokiri, a race of child-like beings who lived in the Sacred Forest. Then, Linika, as "Young Link", learned that she was a Hylian raised to be a Kokiri, and was being groomed for some great destiny that, even now, she couldn't understand. Only after meeting the young Princess Zelda, heir to the throne of Hylia, did the Hero of Time begin to understand her true destiny: stop Gannondorf from claiming the Triforce, which had been broken up to prevent such a thing…

Linika sighs, as she looks upon the back of her hand, while the Triforce of Courage appears, even as it glowed softly before fading again.

'No, I'm LINK, the Hero of Time!" Linika thought to herself. 'I have to be…'

Linika then stares at the girl, as she looks up at her mother with a wide grin.

Linika sighs again, resigned to the fact that, for now, she had additional responsibilities besides saving the world of Hyrule from the Gerudo king…

"Mommy, where to?" the girl asked with pleading eyes. "I'm hungry!"

"…?" asked Linika.

"Uncle Ruafo said that no one needs to eat and junk in that special place," the girl replied with a shrug, as she let's go of Linika. "I wonder what food tastes like…"

'Right, food,' Linika thought, as she looks around to see the entrance to where the Master Sword was being kept. What she recalled from speaking to Ruafo was that the world outside the Sacred Realm had been corrupted by Gannondorf and his minions, and that it would be up to…her to find and awaken the Sages. Only then can the Gerudo king be stopped…

Linika knells down to her daughter's eye-level, and tells her that the world could be very dangerous, and that she would find a safe place for her, after they both get something to eat.

"But I want to go with you, Mommy!" the girl pleaded.

"…," Linika replied.

"Please?"

"…," Linika said gently, as she gently strokes her daughter's left facial cheek. Linika then tells the girl that if she knew that her daughter was safe, she could stop the bad guys without any problems.

"Really?" the girl said excitedly.

"…," Linika said, as she merely nods her head in reply.

"Okay, Mommy," the girl said. "I believe you. Just…be careful, okay?"

"…"

As Linika and her daughter turned towards the exit of the Temple of Time, they are suddenly stopped when three knives, called "kunai" are suddenly thrown at Linika's feet.

FWAT-TATATATAT!

Senses honed to deal with a threat, coupled with a developing maternal streak, causes Linika to place her daughter directly behind her. She then pulls out her sword, the Master Sword, from her scabbard.

"Mommy?" Linika's daughter said with fear.

Sternly, Linika tells the girl to stand back, while she deals with the potential threat. Hesitantly, Linika's daughter does as she is told…

"Who are you?" said a voice from above.

Linika looks up to see a person, a young man she assumes, clad in a blue/white assassin's garb. The person, who was preparing to throw more knives at Linkia was masked, and carried the standard of the mysterious Sheikah, a people who swore to defend the royal family of Hyrule, but who all, but died out.

"I said, 'Who are you'?" the mysterious warrior said, as he lands not too far from Linkia. "And how is it possible that a Gerudo has claimed the Master Sword?"

"…," asks Linika, wanted to know the identity of mysterious warrior.

"I am 'Sheik', the last of my kind and protector of the one known as 'Zelda', the heir to the Kingdom of Hylia," the warrior replied.

"Oh, wow!" Linika replied. "That's my name!"

"What?" Sheik said, as both she and Linika both displayed the look of surprise. "Your name is…Zelda?"

"Uh-huh!" the girl said with an enthusiastic nod. "My name is 'Baja Zelda', Uncle Rauru named me after the Princess while Mommy was asleep for all my life."

"This is…strange," Sheik said, as he lowered his throwing arm. "Just who are you, Gerudo? And what is your connection in all this, especially to the one known as the Hero of Time?"

After lowering her sword, Linika sheepishly tells Sheik that she is…was once Link, the child of destiny, the one who is the Hero of Time.

"L-Link?" Sheik said in surprise. "You are a Gerudo, now?"

"…" Linika replied. She then tells Sheik that a misguided attempt to move unmolested amongst the Gerudo, involving the magic of the Happy Mask Salesman, had thrust her into a rather compromising position. Of course, she spared her daughter Zelda of the details of how she came to be, but the end result was that she was stuck as a Gerudo for the time being…

"That is impossible," Sheik said, as he shook his head. "But…I do not detect any falsehood from you."

"…?" asked Linika, who wanted to prove her sincerity.

"Very well," Sheik said. "Prove yourself, then."

Linika thinks for a moment before deciding on the best course of action…

"That…is the royal treasure, the 'Ocarina of Time', in your hand?" Sheik said with astonishment. "How-?"

Ignoring Sheik, Linika plays 'Zelda's Lullaby', a tune that only those connected to the royal family of the Kingdom of Hylia would know.

"You ARE the Hero of Time, then?"

Linika nods enthusiastically.

"And you are…Gerudo, now?"

"…," Linika replied, as she beckons her child Zelda to her side.

"And…she is your daughter, thanks to the magic of the Happy Mask Salesman."

"…"

"Interesting," Sheik said, as he broke into a sweat. "Perhaps, there is way to undo the magic that keeps you as you are now, Link."

"…," said Linika, not wanting anyone else to know that she was really Link.

"Okay, then, I shall refer you as 'Linika' for now," Sheik said. "And, perhaps, your present appearance will help you avoid the scrutiny of Gannondorf and his minions…"

Pause.

"And since the Master Sword has accepted you as its master, then there is nothing we can do but proceed with the mission," Sheik said. "Yes, we can do that."

"…?" asked Linika, referring to Zelda.

"Although the world around has…fallen, there are pockets of places that you can take your…daughter to," Sheik said. "Nearest here is 'Kakariko Village', where most of the Kingdom of Hylia's citizens went to as refugees. Once you have taken your...daughter there, you must find and awaken the 'Forest Sage', who is trapped in the Forest Temple. If successful in freeing this sage, you should be able to find the other sages with no difficulty, although, I fear, the challenge of your quest will become increasingly more difficult..."

Pause.

"But, I believe in you, so, I will do my best to help you in your quest whenever possible," Sheik replied.

"…," Linika replied with a motherly smile.

"You are welcome," Sheik said. "Hopefully, we can defeat Gannondorf and undo his mad scheme…"

Sheik then takes out a gumball from his pouch.

"I wish you good luck…Hero of Time," Sheik said, before tossing the gumball onto the floor of the temple, creating a flash-bang effect that causes the mysterious warrior to disappear. "Just be careful out there."

BANG!

And Sheik was gone.

After taking stock of her situation, Linika turns towards her daughter, and tells her that they will be going to the Kakariko Village.

"Really?" Zelda said, as she clapped her hands excitedly. "Cool!"

Inwardly, Linika smiled. Though she was beginning to embrace her role as an responsible adult, the Hero of Time could feel her daughter's infectious youthfulness.

'Huh,' Linika thought to herself, as she grabbed Zelda's hand. 'I'll miss being young…'

After exciting the Temple of Light, Linika spied upon what was left of the Market, located in the center of the Kingdom of Hylia. She could hear the rushing sounds of the ill-wind that seemed to permeate the darkened world around her and Zelda…

Linika turned towards her daughter, and picks her up.

"Mommy?" Zelda asked.

"…," said Linika, as she tells Zelda to close her eyes, and not open them no matter what. She was not sure what was laid before her and her daughter, but she was not about to start subjecting her child to the horrors that they could run up against...

In hindsight, Linika kicked herself for being more correct than not, as she walked past near-motionless zombies (called "Re-Dead"), which whom she had come across earlier in her adventure. What was worse was the moaning, that is, unless you get grabbed by one.

"Mommy?" Zelda asked.

"…!" Linika said sternly, as she slowly made her away through the Market…

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" screamed a Re-dead that Linika had missed, as it and its buddies slowly made for a now frozen Linika.

"Mommy!" Zelda said, as she clutched her mother even more tightly

"…!" yelled Linika, as she summoned her will to move. She was not about to let anyone or anything harm her child-!

At the last minute, Linika forced herself to move forward, leaping out of the clutches of the Re-dead at the last minute.

"Oof!" Linika replied, as she took off running, with her daughter in her arm. In spite of the state of the Market, she knew where the exit was, and proceeded to head towards the entrance to the kingdom…

"…," said Linika, as she set her daughter down.

"I'm okay, Mommy," Zelda said enthusiastically.

Linika sighed. Only a child would think avoiding scary monsters was 'fun'…

"Hey, Listen!" Navi yelled, as she told Linika that it wasn't safe to remain in the open field.

Linika nods her head, and picks up her child.

"Mommy?" Zelda asked.

"…," Linika replied, as she placed her child unto her shoulder. She said that they'll get something to eat once they have made it to their destination.

"Okay," Zelda said with a nod.

As the morning sun begins to rise in the East, Linika couldn't help but wonder what the future would be like after she has completed her quest…

"Mommy, I can fly!" Zelda said, as she flapped her arms.

One thing was for sure: if nothing else, Linika, the Hero of Time, was determine to make Hyrule safe for the next generation. Count on it!

**Fin.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Amongst the Gerudo: Tales of Gerudo Link, Part 2! – By Ocramed**

* * *

**Disclaimer: LoZ belongs to Nintendo, while the idea belongs to "tran4of3".**

**Note: This is an AU, limited series. C&C are welcomed.**

**Special Note: This story is based upon the gender-bending comic, "Amongst the Gerudo". Check out that comic first before reading this story.**

* * *

**Act 1: "Forest Temple Saga" (I)  
**

* * *

For nearly a week, Linika the Gerudo, the Hero of Time, stayed at the home of a young lady, who tended to her "cuckoos" for market, in Kakariko Village, where the Kingdom of Hylia's refugees were forced to move to. Staying in the village also gave Linika time to take stock of her own situation while she properly got to know her daughter, Baja Zelda, who was born in the Sacred Realm, and wanted to know the world around her. Unfortunately, even as Linika was preparing to complete her quest to stop the evil Gannondorf from his mad scheme, she also had to deal with the prejudices of the very people she had sworn to protect…

THOOM!

At the last minute, Linika managed to avoid having her path cut off by a stone doorway.

"!" Linika said, as she gets back onto her feet. Upon discovering the secret catacombs, as opposed to the Royal Crypt, where Linika discovered the "Song of Time", underneath the Kakariko Graveyard, the Hero of Time was hoping to find treasure. After all, she was a single mother now, and wanted to make sure that the Cuckoo Lady had money to take care of her daughter for her. Instead, she discovered the ghost of the Gravedigger, and was challenged to a game of tag, while avoiding the flames being dropped in her path by the Gravedigger. She really hoped that the ghost's little game was worth the effort…

"Hee-Hee-HO!" laughed the Gravedigger. "For a pretty little thing, you're certainly are a fast one!"

Linika dismissed the comments out of hand, and demanded to be let out of the catacombs.

"Fine, fine, be that way," the Gravedigger said. "Well, you certainly beat my time, so, a deal's a deal. Be seeing you!"

With that the Gravedigger disappears, depositing a magic chest. Cautiously, Linika opens the chest, revealing a Longshot.

"Hmmm," Linika said to herself, admiring the tool. Hopefully, it'll come in hand, for when she restart her quest anew…

Upon discovering the power of the Song of Time being useful in freeing her from the catacombs, Linika finds herself inside a windmill.

"?" Linika said, as she hops off her perch. She was on a spinning platform when she sees an old face.

"Who are you?" the man with a weird looking musical instrument. The horn piece spins over head even as the man turns to crank shaft.

"And what are you doing here? I'm trying to forget this song I'm playing!"

"?" Linika asked.

"Yeah, this kid seven years ago played this very song…and I hate him for it!" the man said. "If I see him again, I'll mess him up-!"

Linika thought for a moment. With these songs she has been learning, and their effect when using the Ocarina of Time, there was a good possibility that what the musician was playing could come in handy. If nothing else, the Hylian-turned-Gerudo WAS getting good as playing the ocarina.

Thus, Linika learned how to play the very song that the musician was mad for playing…

"?" Linika said, as the inside of windmill began to storm inside, complete with rain.

"Augh!" the man said. "There is goes again-!"

'This…'Song of Storms' could come in handy,' Linika thought to herself. 'Oh, I better check on Zelda…'

Linika thanked the musician by throwing a few rupees his way.

"Thanks!" the man said. "Maybe I can use this money to track down that kid for screwing up my life after all."

Linika could only roll her eyes upon hearing that man's comments…

"Ah!" Zelda yelled, as she was pushed to the ground by some boys.

"Get out of here, you dirty Gerudo!" said one boy.

"Yeah, you're nasty!" said another boy.

"I'm not!" yelled Zelda, as she clutched her elbow tearfully.

"Because of your people, we have to live here!" said the first boy.

"We ought to-"

Just then, the gang of boys realized that Zelda's mother was standing over them.

"…?" Linika asked with annoyance.

"Um, no," said the boy nervously.

"…!"

"Ahhhhh!" screamed the gang, as they scattered.

Sighing, Linika kneels by her daughter's side, and asks if she was okay.

"It hurts," Zelda said tearfully, as she continued to hold her elbow.

"…," Linika said, as she took out one of her red potions from her magic pouch.

Hesitantly, Zelda shows her mother her elbow.

"…," replied Linika with a smile. She then asks her daughter to drink the potion.

As Zelda does as she is told, her wound instantly heals.

"…," Linika said with a smile.

"Mommy, why do people hate us?" Zelda asks.

Sighing, Linika tells her daughter about how the Gerudo were cursed for dealing with dark magic, and that the man responsible for the world going wrong today was a Gerudo.

"But we didn't do anything!" Zelda cried.

"…," replied Linika, as she hugged her daughter. She recalled, as a younger Link, how she was ostracized for being different. In fact, she had her own bullies to deal with, thanks to the likes of Mido the Kokiri, who bullied him for not having a fairy friend like the rest of the Kokiri.

The Kokiri…

"…," Linika said, as she pulls away from her daughter.

"Huh?"

Linika tells Zelda about the Kokiri Forest, where the people living there never grew up, and were less judgmental than the Hylians. She also told Zelda that in order to get into the Shadow Temple, located in the Kakariko Village's Graveyard, she would need to acquire other magical items first, starting with the items found in the Forest Temple…

"…," Linika said, as she tells Zelda that she would need to leave her in the care of the Cuckoo Lady.

"Mommy?" Zelda replied.

"…," Linika said gently, as she wiped away her daughter's tears. She promised to return as soon as possible, so that she could take her to see her childhood home.

"Okay," Zelda said reluctantly, as she hugged her mother again, causing Linika's own tears to fall…

Upon reaching the fields of Hyrule, Linika took stock of her situation.

'What am I going to do?' Linika thought. Hesitantly, she pulled at her face, before realizing that she still couldn't do so. No, it was not that she couldn't try, but that Linika was afraid of the possibility of being male again after being a "girl" for so long. And, there was no guarantee that she could be a boy again, or that she would want to. After all, her first time with someone, Baja Zelda's father, was kind of…nice. No matter what happens from this point on, there was no way to take those memories back.

Then, there was her daughter Zelda herself…

'What am I going to do?' Linika said with worry. She had to consider her daughter's feelings on this matter. Would Zelda accept her as a boy, if she could be a boy again? Perhaps, Linika thought, her daughter will be the reason that she would reject her old life as a Hylian 'dude', and come to accept her new life as a Gerudo 'babe'. It would have been nice to experience life as a grown up guy first, in order to have some means to determine the proper direction in her life. But, for now, Linika could only think about the quest at hand…

"Hey, Listen!" Navi yelled.

"Huh?" Linika replied, as she looked up at her fairy friend.

Navi tells Linika that they should go to the Forest Temple now, since it would take a while to get there.

'Or we can go to Lon-Lon Ranch to steal a horse,' Linika thought mischievously. 'Wait. Why would I want to steal anything? Am I really becoming Gerudo…?'

Nevertheless, Linika tells Navi that they will see about obtaining a horse, making it easier to travel across the Hylian Fields without wasting too much time. Navi agrees with Linika, thus the pair, fairy friend and Hero of Time respectively, journey to Lon-Lon Ranch, hoping that Talon would be nice enough to give her a horse at a discounted rate, if not for free…

"Ah, a Gerudo!" screamed Malon, as she nearly drops her pail full of cow milk in the stables.

Quickly, Linika catches the pail, surprised by her own deft-like reflex.

"Huh?" Malon said, wondered why the Gerudo would be so kind as to not allow her to spill her milk pail.

"…," Linika said with a chuckle, as she sits the milk pail down.

"You don't seem to be like any other Gerudo that I've heard," Malon said cautiously. "Who are you?"

Linika sighs, as she readies herself for her explanation to her old friend…

"Really?" Malon said, as she poked at Linika's chest. "These certainly feel…real."

"…," replied Linika, while blushing, prompting the ranch girl to stop poking at her. The only thing the Hero of Time did not do was tell Malon about her daughter. That would have complicated things…

"Sorry about that," Malon said. "You know, I never in my wildest dreams picture you like…this."

"…," Linika said with a shrug.

"I should be so lucky as to have a friend be stuck as a girl, considering what happened to Father."

"?"

A short time later…

"So, Lord Gannondorf has deemed to send an emissary to the GREAT Ingo, keeper of the Royal Stables at the Lon-Lon Ranch," said a weasel of a man named Ingo. "I do owe your master for allowing a hard-working ranch-hand like me to take this ranch away from that lazy Talon."

Linika laughs nervously, not wanting to give Ingo any suspicion that she was not representing the interests of Gannondorf…

Linika then tells Ingo that she is here to obtain a horse.

"Really," Ingo said. "Well, you may choose any one of these fine stallions…save for one."

"?" Linika asked.

"Yes, unfortunately, there is one unruly 'beast' that I have yet to tame," Ingo sneered. "It used to belong to the stable girl, but no longer…"

Pause.

"I will have that beast tamed and ready for Lord Gannondorf, if it's the last thing I do!" Ingo said.

"?" asked Linika, suggesting that maybe a more gentle touch could help matters.

"I see," Ingo replied thoughtfully. "You Gerudo are known for your ways around animals, especially horses. Very well, you may try."

Linika smiled at Ingo, as she enters the wrangling area, where the horses at the Lon-Lon Ranch were allowed to roam. Based upon what Malon had told her, there was only one way to soothe the sensibilities of a certain steed named "Epona"…

With much confidence, Linika takes out her Ocarina of Time, licks her lips, and then plays a familiar tune that was given to her seven years previously.

Ingo frowned, even as Epona trots to Linika's side. Epona saw that the person who played her favorite tune looked different. However, Linika's scent told her that the person standing before her was her old friend Link, albeit changed and older.

"What is this?" Ingo said. "That beast of a horse would never allow anyone near her!"

"…," Linika said with a shrug, as she pets Epona.

"Wait. I know that tune. That girl Malon had put you up to this, didn't she?"

"…," Linika replied sarcastically, saying that there was no reason for Malon to help her, since she was a Gerudo.

"Yes, yes you are correct," Ingo said.

"…," Linika replied, after telling Ingo that she would take Epona off his hands.  
"Oh, no you don't," Ingo replied. "I've worked too long to prepare that horse for Lord Gannondorf…"

Pause.

"Unless, you want to trade something for it?" Ingo said, as he gives Linika a weird stare that the Hero of Time had quickly shrugged off as being "creepy". Nervously, Linika tells Ingo that they could make a game out of it."

"Okay, then," Ingo said. "We'll race on horseback. If you win, you keep the horse. If I win, you spend the night with ME."

"!" Linika yelled, declaring that she was not about to spend any time with the stable master.

"Then, no wager, no horse," Ingo said. "Surely, a Gerudo warrior maiden can beat someone like me in a contest, yes?"

"!" Linika said, determined to make Ingo eat his words.

"Then, it's on," Ingo said. "And may the best MAN win. HAHAHA-HO-!"

Fifteen minutes later…

"No!" Ingo yelled in astonishment. "No, no, no!"

Linika smiled at beating Ingo…twice, on horseback. She then tells Ingo that she would be leaving the Lon-Lon Ranch with her prize.

"I don't think so," Ingo said, as he closes the main gate to the ranch. "You'll have to go through ME first-"

SNIKT!

Ingo was now very scared, as he felt the tip of the Master Sword at his throat.

"?" Linika said with a wiry grin, as she gripped the handle of her blade tightly.

"Um, no, you can go now," Ingo said, as he slowly reopened the main gate. "I'm sure that Lord Gannondorf won't mind losing out on a fine steed like…yours."

Linika nods her head, as she sheaths the Master Sword. Once free and clear, the Hero of Time gallops away, and out of the ranch.

"Whoo-hoo!" Malon cheered, as Epona gallops away. "Good luck, you two!"

Once far away from the Lon-Lon Ranch, Linika stops for a moment. She then looks at her hands in wonder…

'What's wrong with me?' Linika thought. 'I wanted to kill that guy, but I can't. He's not a monster, right?'

"Hey!" Navi said. She then asked if Linika was okay. Linika nods her head, and then proceeds to the Forbidden Forest, where the Forest Temple was located.

**Tbc.**

* * *

**Author's Note: Something IS wrong with "Linika". However, all will be revealed as to why in due course. Until next time…**


	3. Chapter 3

**Amongst the Gerudo - Tales of Gerudo Link, Part 3! – By Ocramed**

* * *

**Disclaimer: LoZ belongs to Nintendo, while the idea belongs to "tran4of3".**

**Note: This is an AU, limited series. C&C are welcomed.**

**Special Note: This story is based upon the gender-bending comic, "Amongst the Gerudo". Check out that comic first before reading this story.**

**Author's Note: For some readers, there is a concern about the lack of dialogue from Link/Linika. This is the case due to my desire to keep this story consistent with the original source material (which, thankfully, includes an "internal monologue" component for Link/Linika, so we can, as readers, know what s/he is thinking). Nevertheless, I do apologize for not having Link/Linika "speak" when conversing with other characters. Hopefully, the overall story will make up for this deficiency.**

* * *

**Act 2: "Forest Temple Saga" (II)**

* * *

"_Hey, Link!"_

_Link, the only boy that did not have a fairy friend like the rest Kokiri, looked up to see…a fairy?"_

"_Huh?" Link said, as he rubbed his eyes. While he was still tired, he was glad to have awakened from a nightmare involving a "dark man on horseback", and a strange girl fleeing him…_

"_Hi!" the Fairy said. "I'm Navi! I've been sent here to tell you that the Great Deku Tree has summoned you!"_

"_?" Link asked, wondering why the Great Deku Tree wanted to see him. Could it be that he'll finally learn about his past, and why he never had a fairy friend…?_

"_Come on!" Navi said, as she entered into Link's head._

_Grumbling, Link stretched his limbs, and left the comfort of his house for the rest of the village in the Kokiri Forest…_

"_Well, look!" said Link's best friend Saria, a Kokiri, as she clapped her hands in happiness. "Looks like you're really a Kokiri now, Link!"_

_Link merely shrugged his shoulders, and then he told Saria that the Great Deku Tree wanted to see him._

"_Ohhh, okay," Saria said. "We'll talk later."_

_Link nods his head, as he heads over to talk to the Great Deku Tree…_

"_!" Link said angrily, as Mido, another Kokiri, refused to permit Link from going to see the Great Deku Tree._

"_Yeah, I said it," Mido said smugly. "And I still can't believe that a loser like you would get a fairy friend."_

"_?"_

"_No, not until you get a sword and shield," Mido said. "I don't want the Great Deku Tree to think that a shrub like you can't protect yourself. Now, beat it!"_

_Link storms away, angry that he was being denied his right to see the Great Deku Tree…_

"_Hey, Link, look!" Navi said, as she flies over to a sign. "Maybe we can get the Kokiri Sword after completing this challenge?"_

_Link looks at the sign…_

'_If I complete this challenge, that Mido will have no choice but to let me see the Great Deku Tree!' Link thought with a cocky smile, as he decides to complete the challenge of the Kokiri Training Ground, with the goal of claiming the Kokiri Sword, with Navi in tow…_

"_WHAT?" Mido exclaimed, as he sees that Link had a sword and shield with him. "But how-?"_

"_?" asked Link, as he smiles with a cocky smile, while telling Mido that he had 'passed' his stupid 'condition'."_

"_Fine," Mido said, as he stalks away. "See that I care…"_

"_Hey, good job, Link!" Navi said, as she fluttered about Link's head. "Now, let's see why the Great Deku Tree wanted to see you!"_

_Link nods his head, as he runs down the path to where the Great Deku Tree grew. Hopefully, he'll get the answers he has always wanted about his past…_

* * *

Linika the Gerudo stood at the entrance of Kokiri Forest, after riding across the Hylian Fields that night, as she woke up from her memories.

'Will I be accepted by the Kokiri?' Linika thought to herself, as she fed Epona a carrot.

"Hey, are you okay, Link?" Navi asked. "You seem…sad."

"…," Linika replied with a sigh, as she tells her fairy friend about her apprehension.

"It'll be okay, I'm sure of it!" Navi said confidently. "Besides, I'm sure our old friends would love to see you again!"

Linika gives a particular look that indicated that "she" didn't look like her old self at the moment.

"Um, okay, well, at least Saria will understand, right?"

Sighing, Linika ventures into the Kokiri Forest, after telling Epona that she'll be back as soon as possible. But before she goes to the Forest Temple, she wanted to travel to Kokiri Village to see her old haunts, and old friends…

"A Gerudo?" said Mido, as he stood protective of his fellow Kokiri. "Here?"

"!" Linika replied, as Navi fluttered in front of her. She told Mido and the others that she was there to help free the village from the evil of the desert king.

"Yeah, right!" Mido yelled. "I don't know how you managed to get a hold of a fairy, but it's not going to work-"

"Hey, Listen!" Navi yelled, as she flew into Mido's face. "If you don't let us pass, you'll regret it!"

"Oh, yeah?" Mido retorted. "What are YOU going to do about it?"

In response, Navi takes Mido's cap.

"Hey!" Mido yelled. "Give that back-!"

Navi then drops the cap, forcing Mido to try to pick it up. Taking advantage of Mido's distraction, the fairy then circles the Kokiri, and then uses her body to knock over Mido.

BAMP!  
"Aw!" Mido yelled. "I'm gonna-?"

Linika pulls the Kokiri to his feet, and then picks him up by the scruff of his shirt.

"Hey!" Mido yelled, as he struggled.

"?" Linika asked, indicating that he had two choices, with the result of much pain if the Kokiri chose unwisely.

"Ulp!" Mido replied.

"What's going on here?" asked a familiar voice.

Linika turns around to see her old friend Fado, a blond Kokiri, walking up to where the rest of the Kokiri were seemingly confronting the Gerudo.

"Mido?" Fado asked. "What's going?"

"This…Gerudo is invading our home!" Mado replied.

"That's not true!" Navi said defensively. "We're here to help!"

"Why would you want to help us?" Fado asked Linika. "You ARE Gerudo, after all."

Linika sighs, as she lets go of Mido.

BAMF!

"Oof!" Mido said.

"…," Linika said, explaining to the Kokiri that she was sent to Kokiri Forest to find the Sage of the Forest, by liberating the Forest Temple…

"Um, I don't know if we could help you find the Sage of the Forest, but our friend Saria would know these things better than anyone else," Fado said.

"Yeah, unfortunately, no one has seen her in days," said Mido, as he slapped the dirt from his clothes. He then sternly looked at Linika.

"And I bet SHE knows why," Mido said accusingly.

"?" asked Linika, wonder why Mido would accuse her of being part of the problem.

"Don't blame her, Mido," Fado replied. "I bet that this is the first time she has been here."

"You know, you're right," Mido said slyly. "I bet it's because of Link!"

"!" Linika replied.

"Yeah, that's right! Ever since he came to live with us, there has nothing but trouble for us Kokiri."

"That's not fair!" said Navi. "Link had nothing to do with anything that has happened here, or anywhere else!"

"Then where is he, then?" Mido said. "And just because this…Gerudo wants to help, why should we?"

"!" Linika yelled suddenly, indicating that, if nothing else, Saria believed in her.

"Wait, how do YOU know Saria?" Fado asked.

Linika sighed, knowing that the hardest part of her adventure was about to occur, as she begins to play a tune known as "Saria's Song"…

"The only one that Saria taught that tune to is Link," Fado said introspectively. She then looked at Linika, and examined the Gerudo. She then picked up the fact that there was something familiar about this stranger, not to mention the fact that Navi was this Gerudo's friend apparently, something that was unheard of.

"Do you know a Kokiri named Link?" Fado asked.

Linika sighs, and tells the Kokiri that she could tell them what they needed to know about what had happened to Link, over some drink and food.

"Okay, then," Fado said, as she turns and beckons Linika. "Follow me, then…"

Linika follows Fado, even as Mido calls her out.

"You better be telling us the truth, or else!" Mido warned.

Linika merely rolled her eyes in reply.

A short time later, after Linika reveals all that her old friends needed to know…

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" laughed Mido, a second time, as he nearly fell over. Over some food and drink, Linika tells the truth about herself, and why she happens to be a Gerudo at the moment. She did not tell anyone that she happens to be a single mother in a dangerous world these days…

"Mido, be quiet," Fado said. She then turned her attention back towards Linika.

"You know, I do see a resemblance to what you once were, Link. Or should I call you 'Linika', now?"

"…," Linika said dismissively, resigned to her fate as Mido's proverbial punchline.

"Were you always a girl, Link?" asked another Kokiri girl.

"!" Linika replied in the negative, stressing the fact that it was the Gerudo mask that had changed her into her present form.

"And, you can't take the mask off?" Fado asked.

Linika shakes her head in the negative.

"Well, I have to say that you look…pretty," Fado said with a smile.

Linika merely blushed as the comment.

"Heh, you know, this new look suits you," Mido said. "After all, you did look like a girl, even before this."

"!" Linika said angrily, as she stands up and looms over the offending Kokiri.

"Hey, watch out!" Mido said with a taunt. "Don't let 'her' touch you! She might have 'cooties'!"

WHAP!

"Ow!" Mido yells, as she turns towards Fado. "What the heck was THAT for?"

"For being a stupid boy, that's what!" Fado said, as the other girls nod in agreement. She then turned her attention back to Linika.

"Link, you have to help us," Fado said. "Saria…she disappeared, trying to help fight the Desert King on behest of the Great Deku Tree Sprout."

"?" Linika asked, wondering what she was talking about.

A short time later…

"Gracious, you're here, Hero of Time!" said the Great Deku Tree Sprout.

"?" asked Linika, wondering how this creature knew her as the Hero of Time.

"Alay your suspicions," the Great Deku Tree Sprout said. "When my predecessor passed on, he passed to me all that I need to know to assist you in your quest."

"?" Linika replied skeptically.

"Really. I can also tell you about your past, if you are inclined to listen."

"!"

The Great Deku Tree Sprout tells of a war that forced a Hylian woman and her child to flee for safety. And while the woman would die, she had managed to take that child to the Great Deku Tree.

"YOU are this child, Link," the Deku Tree Sprout said. "You were protected, so that you could one day fulfill your destiny."

"?" Linika asked.

"Your destiny is to one day free the land of Hyrule from the Desert King Gannondorf, who seeks nothing more than to control the Triforce, the sacred power that the goddesses had created," the Great Deku Tree Sprout said. "And because Gannondorf has corrupted the Sacred Realm, he is well on his way in succeeding in his goal."

"?" Linika asked, wondering what she should do to stop Gannondorf.

"You are already doing it, by searching for the seven sages," the Great Deku Tree Sprout replied. "Saria thought to do something about the evil that had plagued these woods."

"!" Linika said angrily, accusing the Great Deku Tree Sprout not protecting Saria.

"Hey, I'm only a sprout, you know!" the Great Deku Tree Sprout said defensively. "It's not like I can get up and stop someone from doing what they think is right!"

Linika threw up her hands in frustration. She then asked the sprout why everyone looked the same compared to how they looked seven years ago.

"Well, that's the thing," the Great Deku Tree Sprout said with hesitance. "The Kokiri are gifted with eternal youth. The Great Deku Tree thought that it would be wise for you to live amongst the Kokiri as a Kokiri, since Hylians and Kokiri look alike as children."

"?"

"Yeah, really. Isn't that NEAT?"

"?" asked Linika, wanting to know what would have happened if "he" grew up amongst the Kokiri.

"Um, you'll just be one, big kid, perhaps?"

"…," Linika said drolly, shaking her head in reply at the sprouts lame attempt at humor. She then asked if there was anything else she needed to know before going after Saria.

"Yeah, bring bombs," the Great Deku Tree Sprout said with a grin. "Lots of bombs."

"?" asked Linika, wondering if she should even bother taking the sprout seriously.

A short time later, Linika stands at the foot of her old tree house, which was nothing more than a decapitated tree.

"Link?"

Linika turned to see Mido walking up to her.

"?" asked Linika, wondering what Mido had to say to her THIS time.

"Look, I just wanted to apologize for, well, you know," Mido said, as he rubbed the back of his head.

"?" asked Linika, not sure why Mido, of all people, would want to apologize to her.

"I'm just trying, you know!" Mido said defensively. "It's just that I always saw myself as protecting everyone from danger and junk."

"?" Linika asked, wondering why Mido always picked on 'him'.

"Because, I knew that you were a child of destiny, one who is suppose to be a hero," Mido said. "And…I knew that Saria liked you more than me."

"?"

"Yes, really. Saria never took me, or anyone else, for that matter, to the Sacred Meadow. Saria never taught ME her song…"

"…," Linika replied, indicating that Mido didn't have to worry about Saria liking her, since she was no longer "himself" these days.

"You mean, I can, you know, like-like Saria?" Mido asked.

"…," Linika replied with a shrug. She then told Mido that worrying about whether or not he could date Saria was irrelevant, since she was missing.

"Yeah, you're right," Mido said with a sigh. "I shouldn't think about such things…"

Pause.

"After all, I'm just a Kokiri, right?"

Linika swallowed hard, as she turns towards the direction of the Sacred Meadow, which, coincidentally, was near the Forest Temple. She then began her journey…

"So, you really are going to find Saria?" Mido said, as he began to walk alongside his old rival.

"…," Linika replied with a nod. Linika also tells Mido that she will deal with the evil that has corrupted Kokiri Forest, too."

"Oh. So, can I come with you?"

Linika stops and turns towards the Kokiri, and tells Mido that it would be too dangerous for a kid to come with her.

"Humph," Mido replied. "It's funny how YOU were a kid when you were chosen to be the Hero of Time."

Linika gives off a cheesy grin, before heading off into Kokiri Forest, where she had no doubt trouble lies in wait for her arrival.

**Tbc.**


End file.
